Women&#39;s garment



Oct. 6, 1959 A. WEAVER ETAL WOMEN S GARMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 1, 1958 INVENTORS HowemA. Weaver Mary M. Weaver f'TORNEYS i in Oct. 6, 1959 WEAVER ETAL 2,907,043

WOMEN'S GARMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 1, 1958 INVENTORS HowaraAWeavert W Mary/M. Weaver ATTORNEYS Oct. 6, 1959 Filed July 1, 1958 H. A. WEAVER ETAL WOMEN'S GARMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS Howard 4. Weaver w MaIyM. Weaver MW WWW ATTORNEY) United States Patent This invention relates broadly to womens wearing apparel and, more particularly, to those garments known as slips, nightgowns, one-piece dresses, and to other fulllength womens garments which hang from the shoulders and slip on over the head.

Garments of the types described are conventionally made by joining two or more pieces of fabric by several seams. For example, it is the present practice to make slips of four principal pieces of fabric. These four pieces consist of two lower pieces known as gores, which are connected along the two sides of the garment by vertical seams which extend upwardly from the lower edge of the garment to a point at or above the waist and which together form the lower member of the garment, which is known as the skirt, andtwo upper pieces which are connected to the annular upper edge of the lower member of the garment by a horizontal seam and which are connected to each other by two vertical seams extending upwardly at the sides of the garment from the horizontal seam to the top of the garment, and which form the upper member of the garment, which is known as the yoke. Two shoulder straps are attached to the upper member of the garment. These parts are the minimum requirements of a womans slip. The garment is usually ornamented by lace attached to the upper edge of the yoke and to the lower edge of the skirt. The variations in design of such ornamentation are limitless but the ornamentation, or its absence, forms no part of this-invention.

It will be seen that in such a conventional garment the four pieces are united by four seams, and it has been found that eleven separate operations are required to make such a slip, including the operations required in the attachment of normal lace, shoulder straps, and the like. Such conventional slips usually have a V-shaped or bodice type front neckline as these styles are invariably desired.

My invention relates to a garment of the described type but departs from the conventional four-part construction, which is described above, to provide a slip having a onepiece yoke and a one-piece skirt, thus providing a garment formed of only two pieces of fabric instead of the four pieces of the conventional garment. Further, and of utmost importance, the two parts of the slip provided vby this invention have such a shape that they may be connected by only one seam to form the finished garment, thus reducing greatly the number and complexity of the operations involved in the manufacture of the slip. Several important advantages result from this simplified construction. The reduction in the number of operations required to make a slip by my invention will, of course, sa-ve labor and the expense incident thereto. In addition, the fact that there is only one seam, instead of four, reduces the number of seams which may be ripped. Further, the reduction in the number of seams and the configuration of the single seam results in greatly improved appearance and a much'better fit. It

has also been found. that the new construction provided 1 "Ice by this invention permits the garment to be made in actually true sizes, for the reason that the reduction in the number of seams reduces greatly the possibility of error in the overlapping of parts in making a seam.

The invention is described in the following specification and is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 shows the two principal parts of the slip, the yoke and the skirt, laid out flat, before being connected to form a slip;

Fig. 2 shows the two parts shown in Fig. l, folded but not yet connected; V

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary view of the yoke and the skirt showing how the connection of these two parts is begun, and

Figs. 4 and 5 are, respectively, front and rear views of the finished slip provided by the invention.

One embodiment of a slip having the new and improved construction provided by this invention is disclosed in the drawings and it will be seen that this slip is formed of only two basic pieces of fabric exclusive. of any lace, shoulder straps, ornamentation or the like.

These two pieces are a lower piece, or skirt, A and an upper piece, or yoke, B both of which have a new shape provided by this invention and which are joined together in a new manner, which is described hereinafter, to make anentirely new and radically improved slip construction.

The skirt A is a unitary piece of fabric having the upper edge 4, curved lower edge 6, and side edges 8, 10 and having its two upper corners outwardly curved or rounded, as shown at 12, 14. Between these rounded corners means are provided for imparting lateral yieldability or elasticity to the garment at and adjacent the connected upper edge part of the skirt and the lower edgepart of the yoke. In the garment disclosed herein this is provided by the contours of these two connected edges. Thus, that part of the upper edge 4 between the rounded corners 12, 14 is formed with two spaced nodes 13, 15 between which there is a valley 17 which is preferably located in the center of the upper edge 4, the nodes being preferably positioned equidistantly on opposite sides thereof. Further, those portions 19, 21 of the edge 4 which lie between the rounded corners 12, 14 and the adjacent nodes are inclined upwardly from the corner to the node. It will be apparent that because of this described shape and contour the fabric forming the upper edge part of the skirt will have lateral yieldability or elasticity, enabling this partof the skirt to con form to figures of various sizes. It will also be seen that tension exerted laterally on and adjacent the upper edge part of the skirt at points outside the central valley 17 will cause the material forming the valley to be raised, causing a very desirable efiect. The width of the skirt A at its upper and lower edges is sufiicient to provide the desired size at or just above the waist and the desired flare at the bottom, the entire piece being cut or shaped in a manner known to dressmaking to provide any desired size, length and contour.

As cut, the yoke B is from four to ten inches wider than the lower piece A along its lowerv edge 20, as shown in Fig. 1, and is of relatively small vertical height with respect to the height of the skirt. The need for the greater width of the yoke is to permit gathering, or shirring, of the lower edge, as shown at 22, to provide the bosom contour, The lower edge 20 of the yoke has a depending V-shaped part 24 at its center, the side edges 26, 28 of which are concave and are shaped to, conform, respectively, to the convex curvatures of the corners 12, 14 of the skirt. The part of the lower edge 20 outside each of the edges 26, 28 is shaped to conform to that part of the upper edge 4 of the skirt lying between a rounded corner'and the' center or lowest Part of-the manner known to the prior art.

3 valley 17. Thus, the upper edge of the skirt and the lower edge of the yoke, being similarly shaped, will cooperate when connected together to provide the transverse yieldability or elasticity which is so desirable in a garment of the type to, which the invention relates. The side edges 30, 32. of the yoke converge from th lower edge 20 toward the upper edge 34 and this upper edge is therefore considerably shorter than the lower edge 20, it being understood that this construction of the yoke is used only if a V-shaped front neckline is desired.

My invention not only provides a slip formed of only two. pieces, but also provides a method of connecting the skirtand yoke of a slip by only a single seam instead of the many seams required in making a slip in the In accordance with this very important part of the invention, in making a slipv the. curved side edge 28 of the depending V-shaped part 24 of the yoke is brought to the curved corner part 12 of the skirt with the point of the V-shaped depending part 24. at a notch or mark 31 at the lower end of the curved corner part 12 of the skirt and a seam is begun at this notch and is continued, upwardly and around the garment, connecting the edges 28 and 14, then connecting the lower edge 20 of the yoke to the upper edge 4 of the skirt, thus connecting the curved edge 26 of the depending V-shaped part of the yoke and the curved corner part 12 of the skirt, and finally connecting the side edges 8 and 10 of the skirt, finally stopping at the lower edge of the skirt. This single seam not only closes both the yoke and the skirt but also connects these two parts to complete the garment. Obviously, the seam may be started at the notch 30 at either side of the skirt, by placing the point of the depending V-shaped part of the yoke at one side or the other of the skirt.

While both the yoke and skirt are described in this specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawing as formed of a single piece of material, it will be understood that each of these parts of the garment may be formed of two or more pieces without departing in any way from the invention. Further, while it is preferred that the vertical seam uniting the side edges of the skirt be placed at the rear of the garment it will be understood that if it is desired to construct the garment in such, a way that the seam is located at the front or at one of the sides, or elsewhere, this may be donewithout departing in any way from the invention.

When the single seam which unites the parts of the garment in accordance with the invention is run, all prelim'mary operations, such as shirring and the addition of lace and other ornamentation, will have been completed.

' While the slip described in this specification and illustrated in the drawings has a V-shaped neckline, it will be understood that the invention is. equally applicable to slips and similar garments having a diiferent neckline, such as slips of the bodice type, the essential feature of the invention being the provision of a two-piece garment and the uniting of these, to complete the garment, by only a single seam. It will also be understood that while the invention has been described in this specification as applied to the manufacture of a slip it is equally applicable to the. manufacture of any full length womens garment.

While I have illustrated one form which our invention may take, it will be understood that other embodiments, as well as modifications of that disclosed, may be made and practised without departing in any way from the spirit or scope of the invention, for the limits of which reference must be made to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A full length womans garment comprising a lower member and an upper member, the lower member having side edges, an upper edge and .a lower edge and having rounded corners at the lateral extremities of the luppe f ds h el er. dg e n the r unded was having a wavy shape, with a valley midway between the rounded corners, to provide lateral yieldability to the upper edge part of the lower member, the upper member having a lower edge, an upper edge and side edges and having a depending V-shaped part at the center of the lower edge the sides of which are respectively shaped to conform to the shapes of the rounded corners at the extremities of the upper edge of the lower member, the remainder of the lower edge of the upper member being shaped to conform to the shape of the part of the upper edge of the lower member lying between the rounded corners thereof, the lower member being folded into tubular shape with the side edges thereof brought together and the rounded corners of the upper edge forming the sides of a V-shaped space, the upper member being also folded into tubular shape and positioned adjacent the lower member with its depending V-shaped part received within the V-shaped space between the rounded corners of the lower member and with the remaining portion of the lower edge of the upper member adjacent the similarly shaped part of the upper edge of the lower member between the rounded corners thereof, and a seam uniting the side edges of the lower member, the edges of the V-shaped space of the lower member and those of the V-shaped depending part of the upper member and extending entirely about the gamaent uniting the lower edge of the upper member to the upper edge of the lower member.

2 A full length womans garment comprising a lower member and an upper member, the lower member having 'side edges, an upper edge and a lower edge and having rounded upper corners at the lateral extremities of the upper edge, the upper edge between the rounded corners having a centrally positioned valley and nodes positioned equidistantly on opposite sides of said valley thereby to provide lateral yieldability to the upper edge part of the lower member, the upper member having a lower edge, an upper edge and side edges and having a depending V-shaped part at the center of the lower edge the sides of which are respectively shaped to conform to the shapes of the rounded upper corners of the lower memher, the remainder of the lower edge of the upper member being shaped to conform to the shape of the part of the upper edge of the lower member lying between the rounded upper corners thereof, the lower member being folded into tubular shape with the side edges thereof brought together and the rounded upper corners forming the sides of a V-shaped space, the upper member being also folded into tubular shape and positioned adjacent the lower member with its depending V-shaped part received within the V-shaped space between the rounded upper corners of the lower member and with the remaining portion of the lower edge of the upper member adjacent that part of the upper edge of the lower member between the rounded corners, and a seam uniting the side edges of the lower member, the edges of the V-shaped depending part of the lower member and those of the V-shaped depending part of the upper memher, and extending entirely about the garment uniting the lower edge of the upper member to the upper edge of the lower member.

3. A full length womans garment comprising a lower member and an upper member, the lower member having side edges, an upper edge and a lower edge and having rounded upper corners, the upper edge between the rounded upper corners having a centrally positioned valley and nodes positioned equidistantly on opposite sides of said valley and the edge outside of each node being downwardly inclined to the adjacent rounded corner, thereby to provide lateral yieldability to the upper edge part of the lower member, the upper member having a lower edge, an upper edge and side edges and having a depending V-shaped part at the center of the lower edge the sides of which are respectively shaped to conform to the shapes of the rounded upper corners of the lower member, the remainder of the lower edge of the upper member being shaped to conform to the shape of the part of the upper edge of the lower member lying between the rounded upper corners thereof, the lower member being folded into tubular shape with the side edges thereof brought together and the rounded upper corners forming the sides of a V-shaped space, the upper member being also folded into tubular shape and positioned adjacent the lower member with its depending V-shaped part receiving within the V-shaped space between the rounded upper corners of the lower member and with the remaining portion of the lower edge of the upper member adjacent that part of the upper edge of the lower member between the rounded corners, and a seam uniting the side edges of the lower member, the edges of the V-shaped depending part of the lower mem her and those of the V-shaped depending part of the upper member, and extending entirely about the garment uniting the lower edge of the upper member to the upper edge of the lower member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

